All My Loving
by Emperor SS
Summary: It's so hard to say 'goodbye' and she knew that the fact was 100% correct. (AmourShipping, Ash x Serena, SatoSere, AASL, ChildhoodShipping).


**All My Loving**

 _ **Disclaimer: Pokémon or the characters of this story do not, in any way, belong to me.**_

 _Reviews will be highly appreciated._

'He is leaving...'

'He is leaving...'

'He is leaving...!'

Insomnia was bad for her health. She probably wouldn't look good tomorrow; dark circles under the eyes are really bad if you want to cast a good impression. But right now, she was too messed up to even think about it. She had always been the pretty-kind of girl, she wanted to look good, she liked shopping, all those things. She was extremely particular about the sleep. 8 hours were a must. So, why was she still tossing and turning at 0200 hours or 2 a.m.?

Good question.

Turns out, the boy who stole her nights is leaving. He's going home. And she can do nothing about it. She couldn't stop him from following his dreams; that would be plain betrayal. But now, she wasn't so sure anymore.

He had made it to the finals of the Kalos League, and lost. But that's okay. This was the farthest he'd ever progressed in a League, and tomorrow he would be going home with the Runner Up trophy. Serena sighed. This was not working.

She'd fallen for Ash quite some time back, but she never made a move, never mind the hints, for the fear that it would distract him from his goal, which she didn't want to do. But now, he was leaving! Going back to Pallet Town, in Kanto! That's thousands of miles away! And here she was, tossing and turning in her bed in the luxury suite provided to her by the 7-star hotel. She was supposed to meet him tomorrow at the airport, around noon. The following day was surely going to be the sappiest day of her life; tears probably wouldn't leave her eyes. Heck, she felt like bawling right now!

But she couldn't. The tears refused to come out and give her some sort of relief, refused to grant her freedom from the burden of his departure. Why the heck does he travel so much?! First he goes through Kanto, then the Orange Islands, then Hoenn, then Sinnoh, then Unova and now Kalos. Is this how his previous female travelling companions had felt? She wasn't sure. Although, she was sure that all of them had fallen for him somewhere down the line. He's just plain irresistible.

Where the hell were Clemont and Bonnie when she needed them?

Clemont had decided to return to the Lumiose City gym and had taken over as Gym Leader. Bonnie had decided to stick with her brother and thus she also took residence in the gym. They had promised that they'd come to see Ash off tomorrow. But she doesn't know if they would be seeing him off with smiles or tears. The Kanto-boy had completely changed their lives, for better or worse, and now he just decides to leave!

Serena sighed again. She should get some sleep. But sleep won't come tonight, she's sure of it. She sighed again. She herself was getting pretty annoyed of the constant sighing, but it still offered some relief and took away some of the heartache, although it promptly returned after 2 seconds, which made her sigh once again.

This was not working, really. She blinked and got up, adjusted her bow and stood up. She then paced around the bedroom, stopping sometimes to down a glass of water and then resume pacing. Images of her travels with the raven-haired boy flashed in her mind. The rivalry with Miette, their encounter with the Morality duo, when she first saw him on the TV, the Pledging Tree incident, so many images flashed in her mind. She began to wonder if Ash ever picked up on any of the hints she dropped. If he did, he certainly never showed it.

But soon, sleep ultimately did catch up to Serena. At precisely 3 a.m., her eyes began to get heavy and she found herself back in her bed, swiftly drifting away to dreamland. The sleep was...troubled, to say the least, but it was okay. Her life was pretty darn troubled right now.

She dreamt of separation, dreamt of rejection, dreamt of him leaving. A total nightmare, but she didn't open her eyes. She dreamt how she would say 'I love you' and how he would just walk away, the words would be falling on deaf ears. He would probably never contact her. Her name would just be added to the long list of his travelling companions. She would be forgotten, nothing but an old memory. He would move on to a new region. Get new travelling companions. One would surely be a female who would, somewhere down the line, fall for him and never have reciprocation. The cycle would continue.

She woke up. Heavy breathing and a couple of sweat drops trickling down her forehead. The air-conditioner was set a 22* Centigrade, why the heck was she sweating? Science says that if you wake up during a dream, you remember every bit of it. She was no different. She remembered everything. She looked over at the clock. 6:21 a.m. And finally, she let go. Her eyes unleashed a large torrent of tears, and she didn't hold back. We do not cry because we are weak, but because we've been strong for too long. The tears dampened the white blanket, slowly dampened the sleeves of her nightwear as she tried to wipe them, but the droplets of saline water weren't done.

She couldn't go back to sleep anymore, she concluded. So, after wiping her eyes furiously, she stood up and decided to begin her morning. The flight was scheduled at 10 a.m., so she would have to leave at 8 o'clock to make it in time. Serena then went to her bathroom. She brushed her teeth, took off her bow, had a cup of coffee, decided on her outfit, took a long shower and then at 7:32 a.m., she was ready.

She then headed downstairs, breakfast would've probably begun. She'd lost her appetite at this point, but no food would probably cause her health problems. She surely wasn't ready to take on more problems now. Pancham and Braixen would be hungry too, she guessed. So with a bit of thinking and will-power building, she put on her hat and entered the lift.

 _-(break)-(break)-(break)-_

"Announcement for all passengers travelling with Kanto Airways Flight 908 to Pallet Town. We regret to inform you that due to bad weather conditions, Flight 908 is delayed by 1 hour. Thank you for your patience and we regret the inconvenience caused."

"Damn," cursed Ash as he turned back to Serena, who was sitting across the table. The two were seated in a cafe in Lumiose City International Airport.

"Remind me again, Ash, where are the siblings?" asked Serena, slightly hurt that her two best friends had not come.

"The Kalos Elite Four, I told you minutes ago. The Elite Four called a meeting of all the Gym Leaders of the Kalos Region. Clemont had to attend, and Bonnie wouldn't come alone," replied the trainer as he sipped his chocolate milkshake. Pikachu was seated on the table, eating a cookie.

Serena looked down at her own milkshake; she didn't really want to drink it. Ash had brought them as a last treat to her. Frankly, nothing was going okay right now. Serena felt that if something distracting didn't happen real soon, the tears might make reappearance, and she wouldn't really like that with Ash in front of her.

Serena sighed sadly.

"Something the matter?" Ash asked concern evident in his voice.

"Nah," She shrugged. "It's just that...after all the adventure we've had; it all...comes to an end. I'll really miss you, Ash."

"You'll be fine without me," He smiled the billion-dollar smile Serena loved. "Besides, now you can seriously focus on your career as a Performer."

'I don't wanna focus on that,' she thought bitterly. 'I wanna be with you.'

But she doesn't say those words. She's too much of a coward to really do that, pretty pathetic in her opinion. She just stared at him as he scratched Pikachu's ears, smiled and grinned, and drank his drink. He literally oozes the boyish charm Serena fell in love with. He doesn't have his cap on, and so the performer gets a good look at the black hair. Although they seem a mess, the silkiness and softness they harbour were comparable to her blonde hair.

"So, Serena," He looked at her again and she was pretty sure her heart skipped a beat. "How's your performing coming along?"

"All good, all good," Serena replied. "Aria decided to take me under her wing. She's like my teacher now."

"That's fantastic!" He grinned at his female companion. "I'll be looking forward to your next showcase."

"I'll be sure to invite you first, Ash," Anything to see him again. Anything. "So, where do you plan to go now?" she asked.

"I have heard of couple of regions with interesting Pokémon and upcoming leagues, but I'd really like to take a break from all the travelling business. Mom really misses me and I've been meaning to throw a reunion party and invite all my previous friends," he explained, smile not wavering a bit. Serena had to wonder if she would collapse right now.

"That's good, I guess," she replied. He had trained so hard, he deserved a rest.

Serena's face soon turned into once of sadness. Ash picked up on that.

"What's wrong?" he asked innocently, never knowing that the reason was him.

"Nothing, Ash," Serena muttered, her gaze turning to Pikachu.

"Pika Pikachu?" the yellow rodent asked. Serena just smiled, which was enough for the yellow rodent to turn back to his cookies.

"Serena, I know when something's wrong," Ash frowned slightly, smile going away. "Especially when something is wrong with you."

"It's just that...I might never see you again, Ash, and that fact is pretty...devastating for me."

"Hey, don't be sad! We'll keep in touch. Video chats, e-mails, letters, phone calls, and the whole deal. I'll never forget you. Never ever." He replied staring into her blue eyes.

A significant part of the huge burden on Serena's shoulder vanished away. She knew his promises most probably won't be kept, but that was okay. His assurance was enough. She desperately wanted him to hold her, promise that everything would be alright, that she would always have him by her side, she would have his protection, his belief, his faith, his love. But that was probably too much to ask, wasn't it?

"Announcement for passengers travelling to Pallet Town by Kanto Airways Flight 908. Passengers are requested to proceed to Gate No. 21. Boarding will begin shortly. Thank you and have a pleasant flight."

"Well, I guess that's my cue, Serena," Ash began, as he stood up, finished his drink and put on his hat, Pikachu deciding to walk this time, rather than take his usual seat on his trainer's shoulder. "Wanna walk with me to the gate?"

Serena nodded silently, standing up and putting on her hat. The heartache returned and she suddenly felt like vomiting. Small droplets of sweat began to form on her forehead and she really had to wonder how her legs were actually walking.

The walk was...quick. At least to Serena it was. It seemed like time had just flown by and now, she couldn't cope with the fact that this was goodbye. People had started lining up in front of the gate. Officials had taken their spot at the gate's counter. This was it. The final wave, the final smile, the final sighting, the final everything.

Ash turned to face Serena, "Time for me to go. I'll miss you too, Serena." He then turned back and his legs took their first step towards the gate that would separate them.

Something came over Serena, and suddenly the logical side of her mind stopped functioning. "Ash!" she called out. He turned. "Yeah?" he asked.

Without thinking, she moved towards him. She looked her in the eye, his playful and rebellious blue-ones facing his warm and sincere brown-ones. Then, she took a silent deep breath and then planted a quick peck on his cheek. "Thanks for everything."

Ash's face went red. "W-what was that for?" He stuttered.

She giggled softly and looked up, a faint blush on her face. "You'll understand one day." And with that she began to walk away, a small sad smile on her face. Time heals all wounds, although she wasn't sure if she wanted it to heal this one.

But suddenly she felt her hand being gripped. "Serena!" Ash called. Fear gripped her. The 1% good of the day was about to come crashing down. Fear of rejection hazed her mind. Why the hell rejection? She hadn't even said anything to be able to get rejected. But right now, a million thoughts raced in her mind.

Ash, being faster and much quicker than Serena, planted a quick peck on her lips and carried on walking away as if nothing had happened. Serena felt her body temperature rise and her cheeks turned red. She hid her face with her hands, hiding the blush from no one in particular. "What...what...was that...what?" Words refused to come out of her mouth.

Ash turned and smiled. "That peck was my payment for all my help, right? Well, this one was my repayment with...50% interest compounded over a period of 30 seconds." He said joyfully.

Serena just stared at him. "Does that mean...do you...?"

Ash grinned at her and nodded. Words weren't needed right now. They understood. The effects of his 'kiss' shot like thunder through the performer's system and her legs started to collapse. Had Ash not been there to support her, she might have fallen flat on the floor.

The Pokémon Trainer smiled again and lent in for a more real one. She kissed back. It was short but sweet. Serena just couldn't believe it! She never even considered that Ash might've felt the same way. Her mind was running at a million kilometres per-second. And then a huge smile formed on her lips. She hugged him, he hugged back. Pikachu watching the couple and smiling that his trainer had finally found someone for him to call 'Pikachupi'.

"This is the final call for passengers travelling on Kanto Airways Flight 908. Passengers are requested to proceed to boarding immediately. Thank you."

"Ah, well, what a shame." Ash sighed. "I love you, Serena."

She nodded.

"Although, now it seems I have a very compelling reason to come back to Kalos as soon as I keep the trophy at home," he smiled. "Wouldn't you agree, Pikachu?"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"I should get going." He said and with a final hug he turned to walk away, but there was still something left.

"Ash!" Serena called. "Promise you'll write?"

"Everyday," He replied. "And I'll send all my loving to you."

 _So this is my first one-shot after 'Don't Let Me Down', which was a huge success, all thanks to you guys out there! I actually took my own sweet time with writing this fic, so I'd like to apologise to the people who probably had to wait for a long time. Please review the story and I'm also taking AmourShipping requests, so lemme know if you'd want one. One more interesting fact for my readers, I don't know if anyone of you will know this, but the ending dialogue and the title of this one-shot are a reference to a very famous song. If you know what I'm talking about then let me know in the reviews, for those of you who do not know, I suggest listening to the tune. Anyways, Emperor SS signing off!_


End file.
